Monday, August 18, 2008

HOPPED UP-N-HEAVY WITH GREEN FLASH’S “HOP HEAD RED”

Hey, it’s great to be back and sharing my beer-drinking discoveries with all y’all! Wow, where to begin, right? How about with GREEN FLASH BREWING’s HOP HEAD RED, a new beer we tried over a roasty campfire while on vacation last week near Santa Barbara, CA. Sure, I cheated on starting the fire and used lighter fluid, and sure, we disappointed our son by using lame-ass organic marshmallows in the s’mores – but one thing definitely went right. HOP HEAD RED is just what you’d expect from a beer monikered as this one is – a bready malt base colliding with a very hoppy, deeply flavorful amber ale, with a malty aroma that just makes this thing sing. How did I know this was going to be so good? Well, because GREEN FLASH makes it, that’s why. It’s available in 12-ounce bottles, and is probably going to do quite well in that consumable package, as it’s great both for campfires & cookouts AND for deep contemplation of hops and malts at home. 8.5/10. Anyone out there tried it on tap yet?

Welcome back. Had this on tap at Stone in May. The hop taste reminded me of the way hop pellets smell. I've drank a lot of hoppy beers and only 3 thus far have given me this impression (and 1 of the other 2 was Green Flash Imperial IPA).